Government

Here’s a message from St. Joseph County courts: Pursuant to a local administrative order, St. Joseph County’s courts are able to conduct jury trials when the number of COVID-related cases is below a threshold set by the Michigan Supreme Court. At this time, the case count per million and the positivity rate remain too high for jury trials to be …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration on Sunday ordered high schools and colleges to stop in-person classes, closed restaurants to indoor dining and stopped organized sports — including the football playoffs — in a bid to curb Michigan’s spiking coronavirus cases. The restrictions will begin Wednesday and last three weeks. They are not nearly as sweeping as when the governor issued a …

St. Joseph County officials heard an update this week on committee appointments. During Tuesday’s executive committee meeting, board chairman Dennis Allen noted the St. Joseph County Road Commission Board has one member whose term expires at the end of the year. Allen noted two people have applied for the six-year position. He and commissioner Dan Czajkowski will represent the county …

Hospital leaders warned Thursday that more than 3,000 people are hospitalized with the coronavirus in Michigan, a rate that is doubling every two weeks and is expected to top the spring peak of about 4,000 by late this month. “It’s an accelerating trend. It’s very serious,” said John Fox, president and CEO of Beaumont Health, the state’s largest system. Inpatients …

Michigan on Tuesday posted a record number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases, near 6,500, and reported 59 deaths within the previous 24 hours — its deadliest day in six months. COVID-19, which subsided over the summer after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer imposed sweeping stay-at-home and other restrictions, has rebounded this fall. Asked if she might again order people to stay home, …

Michigan is rolling out statewide a voluntary, free coronavirus app that notifies users if they have potentially been in close contact with infected people. Monday’s launch comes weeks after the state began piloting the technology in Ingham County, including at Michigan State University. State Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon is encouraging all Michiganders to download the app onto …

A Three Rivers resident will succeed Aaron Miller as 59th District State Representative. Republican Steve Carra topped Democratic challenger Amy East and write-in candidate Jack Coleman. Carra captured about two-thirds of the 27,000 votes cast in St. Joseph County for the two-year term.

A former Three Rivers City Commission member will represent the municipality and two adjacent townships as St. Joseph County District 1 commissioner. Jared Hoffmaster comfortably held off Andrew George to claim the two-year seat. The position, which is being vacated by Allen Balog, also includes representation of Flowerfield and Lockport townships. Hoffmaster collected about 1,400 more votes than George. No-party-affiliation …

Three positions in two townships featured contested races. In Mendon Township, longtime incumbent Mike Kline defeated challenger Gregory Allen in a race for supervisor. Kline won by a margin of 68 percent to 31 percent and will serve four additional years as Mendon Township’s supervisor. In Lockport Township, Christy Trammell captured nearly 59 percent of the vote for township clerk. …

Three Rivers Community Schools chose four people from a field of six candidates to its board of education. Newcomers Melissa Bliss and Ben Karle will join incumbents Julia Awe and Anne Riopel to six-year terms on the board. Meanwhile, incumbent Fred Barclay was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election to White Pigeon Community Schools Board of Education. Instead, Jeff Baechler …